As Myanmar military rule drags on, son of ousted former leader Aung San Suu Kyi pleads for her freedom

It has been a year since the son of deposed former Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi received a handwritten letter from his mother, the only contact he has had with her since she was detained. 

“She couldn’t say a great deal in that letter, since we know that our letters will be read and censored,” Kim Aris told CNA on Friday (Jan 31), four years after a military coup that plunged the country into chaos. 

“But I know that the conditions that she was being held in, she was feeling the cold and feeling the heat, and she was having ongoing health concerns.”

Since then, Aris, who lives in London, has made numerous attempts to reestablish contact with the long-time democracy icon and Nobel laureate. 

“I’ve sent letters and care packages. I’ve asked to be allowed to see her in person, as is her human rights. And after all of these attempts, I haven’t received any response,” he added. 

“I haven’t been led to believe that I will receive any more correspondence from her. I haven’t had any response from the military to any of my requests.”